What Nutrients to Add in Your Diet to Perform Better at the Gym

If you want to know everything on how to adapt your diet in order to improve your gym sessions and perform at your best, then keep on reading this article!

You know that to get fit and perform at the best during your workout, it’s not only what you do at the gym that counts, what you eat is also a major factor.

Both for the newbies or the ones already hitting the gym several times a week, your body is changing and creating more muscles. This way, you have different and specifics nutritional needs that you should adapt regarding the intensity and duration of your workout.

When you’re working hard at the gym, your body is consuming all kind of nutrients without you noticing it such as water, many energy substances, proteins, vitamins, minerals… That’s why you need to adapt your diet! Indeed, a healthy and balanced diet is essential in order to improve your physical performances.

Carnitineis essential to your body as its carrying fatty acids into muscles cells, where they are then converted into energy. It’s an important contributor to cellular energy metabolism and is directly produced in your liver and kidneys. This amino acids improves your physical abilities, promotes weight loss and fights against tiredness. This study also demonstrates that carnitine consumption could improve your cognitive functions!

It’s important to talk about another nutrient, inosine, whichis a natural substance that is helping our cells to produce energy, particularly in muscles. Many manufacturers will sell it it as an energy producer. However, studies showed that inosine is not improving your physical performances. On the contrary, it has been proven that this substance is weakening the body!

#3- The Body Fat Burners

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are not naturally produced by our body, that’s why it’s really important to eat some through your diet.

#4- The Essential Ones

Mineral salts and metals are essential to your body and are consume much more quickly when you workout, which could lead to a deficiency.

Magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and chromium are 4 major nutrients that help you perform better during your workout. In order to improve your physical performances, you should definitely add these 4 mineral salts and metals to your diet.

Magnesiumis a really major nutrient as it participates in more than 300 chemical reactions in your organism! It takes actions in energy production inside the cells, lipid utilization, and regulation in blood sugar level. It’s also essential for helping muscles to relax after an effort and may contribute to the enhancement of exercise performance. When you workout, your body is consuming much more quickly all your magnesium reserves, which leads to decrease your sportive capabilities.

Iron is an essential element for almost all living organisms as it participates in a wide variety of metabolic processes such as oxygen transport, DNA synthesis, and electron transport. Many studies proved that ironconsumption is beneficial for everyone who has a regular physical activity. Indeed, low level of iron can cause anemia, and thus limit the delivery of oxygen in your muscle. This can result in a significant reduction in exercise performance. A diet rich in antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene is perfect in order to keep a high level of iron, even during an intense workout.

Phosphorusintake is a major element in energy production in your cells. It’s increasing the use of oxygen into the muscles, and thus, your endurance. That’s why this nutrient is a good addition to your diet if you like running, cycling or cardio workouts. In addition, studies showed that a daily phosphorus consumption is improving your cognitive abilities. That’s right, phosphorus makes you run faster and think better!

Animal Food Sources: milk, dairy products, meat, fish, chicken, pork

Plant-Based Food Sources: nuts, edamame, quinoa, tofu

Chromiumis a popular oligo-element that helps you to perform at your best. It takes a major part in the use of fatty acids, proteins and carbs. Chromium is also helping your organism to regulate the level of sugar in the blood.

It increases your heart rate and dilates the coronary arteries, which lead to a better oxygenation of the cardiac muscle

It increases the use of fatty acids for energy production

It delays the feeling of tiredness and exhaustion

Caffeine is also used in order to lose weight as it’s reducing appetite, it has diuretic properties and has a mild laxative effect.

The daily recommendation is different in countries, it varies between 200 to 400mg of caffeine for adults. Many foods and drinks contain caffeine, such as: coffee (of course), green tea, dark chocolate, yerba maté, and guarana.

What Are the Potential Risks to Consume These Substances?

You should be really careful not to take more than the daily recommended intake, which is different for every nutrient.

For example, an arginine or carnitine excess could lead to nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain. Choline is not appropriate for people dealing with depression.

It’s also important to note that you should adapt your omega-3 fatty acids intake with your omega-6 fatty acids in order to have a healthy cardiovascular system. Indeed, the daily recommended intake is to eat 5 times more omega-6 than omega-3.

Caffeine excess is causing anxiety, nervosity and insomnia. It’s also accelerating dehydration as it has a diuretic effect.

Everyday Tips to Boost Your Workout Performances

Eat More Carbs

Carbs are not your enemy, they provide your body with energy. It’s important to eat some carbs in order to perform at your best during workouts. Choose sugar which have a slow digestion, such as bread, wholegrain cereals, fruits. They bring glucose more regularly and on a longer time than sugary snacks or drinks. These kind of carbs are perfect 1 hour before your workout.

Get Some Vitamins

Vitamins contribute to protect muscles cells during a physical effort, and fix them during the recovery phase. Your vitamins needs are not the same depending on the sport you practice:

For intense workouts, with prolonged and repeated exercises, you have a higher need in vitamin B and C. You’ll find some in fruits, fresh vegetables and cereals.

For endurance sports, it’s recommended to eat food with a high concentration in vitamin B, C, E and beta-carotene. Fruits, fresh vegetables and meats are your go-to foods.

For strength workouts, you’ll prefer vitamin B6, C, E and beta-carotene. Fruits, fresh vegetables, nuts and fish oils have a high concentration of these nutrients.

Eat Proteins, But Not in Excess

Many people think that in order to increase the muscle mass, they just need to eat more proteins. That is not quite true! Indeed, only workout will stimulate the gain in muscle mass. Of course, you should eat enough proteins to ensure this development. For information, the recommended daily intake for endurance sports in proteins is 1.2 to 1.4g per kg of the body weight.

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